Is there a possibility that Maximum PC will ever be available on the Kindle? I mean I've been subscribing to the print edition for years and I love the color and stuff but I do own a Kindle, so it would nice to just to carry one device that has my magazine subscription in it.

Also I will continue to subscribe to the print edition, but I would really like to a supplement Kindle edition.

After doing more research I would love for all of the magazines I read to offer a Kindle edition. Just like Steam eliminates the discs, manuals and boxes, Kindle eliminates the past issues taking up space on your desk and, most importantly, in landfills. Once the Kindle goes color, the printed (on paper) word will soon be obsolete.

Once the Kindle goes color, the printed (on paper) word will soon be obsolete.

They have to get the price of the Kindle down first. Right now it's $200-400, which is way too expensive for the casual reader. A magazine subscription costs $20 for a year subscription to Maximum PC and the digital version.

They have to get the price of the Kindle down first. Right now it's $200-400, which is way too expensive for the casual reader. A magazine subscription costs $20 for a year subscription to Maximum PC and the digital version.

I agree the price needs to come down before it will become a viable replacement for print media. But it's still in its infancy...like any other emerging technology, prices will fall as it matures.

willsmith wrote:

Last time we tried making the kindle edition, the plethora of colorful pages in our mag made it not look or read particularly well.

That's another point of contention: before anyone seriously considers replacing their print subscriptions with digital ones, the Kindle is going to have to support color.

I'll ask our circ guys to look into it. Last time we tried making the kindle edition, the plethora of colorful pages in our mag made it not look or read particularly well.

They now have the Kindle app for the iPhone/iPod touch, and that supports color; however magazines and newspapers are not yet supported, but it's only some time when that kind of support will come out. From what I can tell, all the book can be synced and all images are in color (assuming they are in color in the first place).

Well, not really. It was designed specifically for books and newsprint, not magazines and colored things. Get your daily paper on the Kindle instead of on your doorstep. Read the latest book in your series on the plane on your Kindle, etc.

I would imagine that for color, a simple change to OLED's would be all that's needed. However, those are still a few years away from becoming mainstream. I can see them using this for the magazine version of the Kindle.

Basically now, each pixel on the screen is a tiny ball, with a dark side and a light side. To make that color vs. black and white, the single ball would need to be replaced by an array of smaller red, green, and blue balls. That's not impossible, but it would be pretty expensive right now. The price will come down over time though.

I know I'm a bit late to the game on this topic, and I'm hoping that it's still viewed by MPC editors, but here's my "2 cents" worth:

1) In regards to the price, with the Kindle 2 only costing $139 ($189 for the 3G+WiFi version), cost is no longer an honestly-considerable factor.2) In terms of publication costs, it would cost far less to do a Kindle version, compared to the traditional print version.3) I highly doubt that current print subscribers would cancel, in favor of the Kindle version. Chances are, more likely, that they might do both.4) No matter how you look at it, even if print subscribers canceled, and subscribed to the Kindle version, it would still (as pointed out in point #2) cost Future Publications less, and, in reality, they would make more $$$.5) With the Kindle 2 & Kindle DX using Pearl E-Ink technology, there is a far greater greyscale produced, lending itself to better conversion & showing of the color images, as seen in the print version.6) There are already a decent number of other magazines with Kindle versions, including, most notably, Time, Newsweek, Technology Review, The New Yorker, Forbes, 2600 (yes, had to toss that one in ), and some little-known magazine called PC Magazine, all of which (ok, maybe not so much with 2600) include a considerable number of pictures, so there is absolutely no reason why MaximumPC can't do it as well.7) In addition to all the new subscribers that MPC would gain (ie. those who would only subscribe to the Kindle version), I can (virtually) guarantee that a decent number of print subscribers would ALSO subscribe to the Kindle version, reading the print version at home, and the Kindle version everywhere else. Because I want it...as, I am certain, many others do.

If the above eight points aren't enough for MaximumPC to seriously consider doing a Kindle version (and by that, I mean the full magazine, and not just the MaximumPC.com blog version currently being done), than I have no clue what will work. Yes, as long as the Kindle continues to use E-Ink technology, it will be impossible to do a color version, but, realistically, with the improved greyscale of the Kindle 2 & Kindle DX (with possibly future improvements), plus the thought that we really don't NEED full color, as greyscale is more than "good enough", is there any realistic reason not to do a Kindle version? I think not. So, MaximumPC, let's get the ball rolling, and give the people what they want...a full magazine subscription, in Kindle version (again, not referring to the blog version already being done). You have nothing t lose, and only additional profits to gain.

I am hoping this is the reason this thread was locked, but just so you know when you come back... this is an old thread, and we have a thing about bumping old stuff. A Kindle edition of the magazine doesn't make sense. However, a PDF version that I could get on my NOOKColor, does.

As you can see, from when this was first posted in 2009 (two years ago) the first color e-ink is just now coming out. They aren't going to be readily available or mass produced either.

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